Solomon Irotaka
Corporal Solomon Irotaka was a Northerner farmboy who joined the COG Army in A.E. 7. He was a competent and level-headed soldier, but he struggled with on-and-off bouts of depression, as well as moderate PTSD. These issues would gradually become worse as time went on, as he was struck by tragedy after tragedy, until he eventually lost his mind. Biography Early Life Life Before E-Day Solomon was the oldest son of Joanes Irotaka, a moderately wealthy Northerner farmer. Solomon lived a cozy and rather sheltered lifestyle, well-protected from the violence that struck much of the South Islands when the UIR invaded in B.E. 4. After E-Day His father's farm was decimated on E-Day, and only Solomon and a handful of farmhands survived. Solomon was forced to become a worker on the farm of his father's business competitor, where he worked long, hard hours for next to nothing. Joining the Army Worn thin by life as a farmhand, Solomon soon decided that he would become a Gear as soon as he was old enough. Though things didn't work out quite the way he had hoped, he still enlisted, albeit at age 19. On The Front Lines Initially relieved to be away from his job as a farmhand, his attitude quickly changed as he was thrust into the soul-crushing horror that was the front lines of the Locust War. Urban Fighting in Aldkirk Irotaka first saw combat in the Battle of Aldkirk in late A.E. 7. Aldkirk was a rookie's worst nightmare. Aldkirk, formerly a massive city, was reconstructed after E-Day as a moderate-sized settlement over the ruins of its previous self. As a result, much of the city was a desolate urban wasteland, full of broken gas lines and electrical cables, as well as hazardous chemicals and flammable liquids. The structures that still remained standing were often unstable, and the streets were lined with enemy snipers. It was an environment in which seasoned Gear NCOs struggled to keep their wits about them, and for new Gears like Solomon, it was Hell on Earth. A considerable portion of Solomon's squad was killed off early on in the battle, including Jacob Mallen, an Aldkirk native who lost control of his temper and charged out into the open only to have his head immediately blown off by a sniper, and Thomas Ald, a young father who lost his composure while being firebombed by Grenadiers and was stuck with an incendiary grenade. Solomon managed to survive Aldkirk, but it was almost entirely thanks to his squad's leader, who ultimately sacrificed himself to allow Solomon to live. Trench Combat in Arethea Junora Massacre Siege of Helonia Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis Returning to the South Islands In late A.E. 9, a depressed Solomon returned to his home island. He found his home and the farm where he worked to have been mostly destroyed by the Locust. He wandered around the island, depressed and disconnected from reality, until he finally passed out at the side of a road. Ayu Love At First Sight Romance Marriage Back on Duty Solomon Returns Home Life as a Career Soldier Operation: Hollow Storm Assault on Landown In the Hollow =Death = Personality & Traits Category:Gears of War: Dark Horse Category:Characters Category:Gears Category:War of Nightmares